PYMNTS 5-In-1 Daily Data Digest: Payday Lending Fast Facts

With new regulations set to drop at some point later this spring and battle lines being drawn, payday lending (and short-term lending in general) are catching a lot of attention.

And generating a lot of confusion, as there is a lot of data floating around out there on the subject, though not all of it is created equal. So how to separate the wheat from the chafe?

We can help.

Here are the Top 5 things you need to know:

$50 Billion | What U.S. borrowers are taking out in payday (and other) short-term loans annually as of 2015.

$392 | The mean average dollar amount of a short-term loan, with a $350 median average.

391% | The average APR of a payday loan. Note: these loans are not offered over the course of a year. That comes to about $15 in interest/fees on every $100 borrowed for a two-week term, which is roughly the term of the loan.

75% | The number of American “middle class” consumers living paycheck to paycheck. A recent report by the Fed indicates that almost half of all Americans could not come up with $400 to pay an emergency bill in a week or less.

33% | The proportion of borrowers who use payday loans fewer than six times per year, 19% use payday loans 7-10 times per year, 34% use the service 11-19 times per year and 14% use payday loans 20 or more times a year.